In spite of much debate, exams are going to stay a part of student life, professional life and personal life. If you are a student and exam stress is a matter of concern, then following simple stress management tips will help you out:

• Planning: Prepare a study chart in such a manner that whole syllabus will be covered and you will get time to revise. You have to follow the chart religiously.

You should not be over optimistic during preparation of the study chart because over optimism can lead you to frustration. You will gain confidence once you complete the syllabus in time and confidence is the best weapon to fight exam stress.

• Revise: There are many ways you can revise already studied subjects, those are: reading, writing, testing, discussing. My recommendation is to utilize your initial revision period by reading, writing and discussing. Later, you should solve model questions while timing yourself. Solving questions on time is another way of building confidence or reducing exam stress.

• Positive thinking: Avoid everything which makes you think negatively, be it a discussion like, “Last year John studied 18 hours per day, yet still he could not do well,” or a TV show or whatever. Because negative thinking means eroding your hard gained confidence and developing exam stress.

• Yoga and Meditation: These tools help you to calm your mind and build confidence.

• Foods: Eat foods rich with vitamins and proteins like green leafs, fruits, cereals, chapatti etc. Avoid oily and junk foods. Proper nutrition is compulsory for the brain to produce its best output. Healthy body and mind will help students fight exam stress. Avoid coffee/tea.

• Sleep well: Student should maintain a regular sleeping pattern and a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep is mandatory. Sleeping helps your brain to regain its power.

• Share your doubts: Ask your teachers or friends to clear doubts. Don’t ever ignore a doubt or you will unconsciously lose confidence. The more confident you are, the less exam stress you will experience.

• Making notes: Benefits of preparing notes are twofold; firstly, it will improve your writing and secondly, notes are very useful for last minute revisions.

Exam stress not only for student but for many of us is common but one can coupe off exam stress by improving self confidence and being mentally and physically fit. Simple stress management tips will help you managing exam stress.

Devender Singh